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11:05 - That was a really curious closing segment, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Cena isn't typically shy about a large portion of the audience booing him, but it felt like an extra emphasis was placed on it for this promo. It's almost as if they wanted to hammer the point home that there are a lot of people that dislike him, which is an interesting decision (not a bad one, mind you, until we see how it plays out). And even his response seemed to have a bit of a short edge to it. Further, his actions of stirring the pot and then just leaving seemed unusual.
Regarding Miz and Truth breaking up, I thought it worked really well. It did seem a bit rushed -- I mean, in a matter of 2 minutes they went from tight and chummy to coming to blows -- but WWE has recently fallen into this trap where they take so long building up tension between partners that by the time one of them turns, the fans don't even care anymore. So I suppose this is the lesser of two evils.
Having said that, I think the concept of them breaking up happened way too soon. These two worked really well off of each other (and it was mutually beneficial, since neither was in the title picture). And if handled properly, this turn could've happened around the Rumble to build towards a WrestleMania match (and I do think people would have cared about the break up at that point). Perhaps most of all, I just don't think at this point in time, Truth can find success as a character if he's a face. His heel act has been BRILLIANT. His face routine was really, really bland. I don't think this was a great move for him at this point in time.
10:52 - Ha, it just occurred to me that Jonah Hill was supposed to be on the show. At least they're bumping him and not one of their Superstars. Unless you're Brodus Clay.
10:46 - I'm not upset that Barrett won, and it was a great match, but I hate how Kofi is used as enhancement talent in so many situations. Along with being a tag champion, he's also a really talented guy with a great upside.
10:32 - I'm glad Barrett brought back his long jacket. Much better than the overdone t-shirt entrance look.
10:23 - Interesting vignette hinting at Kane's return. I've said it before (and many others have as well) but I really think Kane needs to revert back to the mask. I actually wouldn't mind if they did a hybrid -- bald head, no shirt, but wearing the mask. One thing, though: Please, don't have him wear the last mask he wore, with the mouth section missing. I hated that mask, and it really took away a lot of the allure of him finally unmasking.
By the way, worth nothing that Kane seemed to be wearing the full glove he used to wear with the classic mask, and not the fingerless ones he wore later on (and now).
10:17 - Now that was a really great match. When I do my year end survey next month, Dolph has a legitimate shot at being the breakout star of the year. He began the year feuding with Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship, and since then he's really come into his own with some awesome matches against a variety of Superstars, and his personality has really come through. I wouldn't mind seeing these two feud legitimately in the coming months.
9:57 - Another new theme for Dolph?
9:51 - Looks like we're getting a Booker T/Cody Rhodes feud. I'm fine with that, as I like Booker and he's a talented guy. Plus, I'm sure he'll put Cody over and continue to make him look strong. My only issue is that there are plenty of people on both rosters that can't seem to break through -- so why not give one of them the shot? Like a Justin Gabriel, perhaps?
9:39 - I swear to God, if I see this Triple H/Nash segment one more time....
9:23 - Well, at least Ryder lasted longer against ADR than Morrison did. I don't have a problem with ADR going over clean, either. It was a competitive match, losing didn't hurt Ryder.
9:15 - An enjoyable Punk promo with just the right amount of snark. I'm glad he didn't harp too long on how there are people up top who are against him, because that potential story arc sailed away following the Triple H debacle. I'm also glad that they're not going to go the easy route and continue the ADR feud for another month (although they may). I was actually thinking about this earlier -- this has become such a repetitive crutch that it feels like these feuds never truly end, especially with such frequent title changes. From this point forward, why not say that the rematch clause is reserved for the live events following the title change? It would keep the main event matches fresh, and who knows, maybe it'll encourage some people to buy tickets to house shows.
4 comments:
Just a few points.
1. My guess is they do continue the ADR feud another month. I'm expecting next week's match to end in a DQ or something like that to set up a rematch at TLC. There just aren't that many other options right now, although I suppose they could have Miz challenge for it there. Once you get past TLC, it's much easier, as Punk can face anyone for the title at the Rumble, with the Rumble match selling the show (Ziggler, perhaps?), followed by the Elimination Chamber.
2. Agreed on Kane's mask.
3. Totally agree on Dolph. My favorite guy in the company right now aside from Punk. I just wish they'd really push him instead of just doing the "win one, lose one" thing they keep doing with him. And I fear the second he gets pushed to the main event, he'll just become Cowardly Heel #322 who gets his ass kicked by Cena.
4. Closing Segment: We know now why they split up Awesome Truth. I felt like the team had run its course since they were really too far above Kofi/Bourne, but too far below Cena and anyone. That said, WWE doesn't really have enough upper card faces to pair everyone off. Unless Truth is turning face (which I don't think he should), I'm not sure where they go from here. As for Cena, there's still time but the whole thing is frustrating me. I didn't see an edge at all until Truth and Miz started in on him. Before that he was kissing the Rock's ass. I really wanted to see Cena hit the AA on Rock at Survivors Series rather than get Rock Bottomed again. I want him to turn heel, but it didn't even need to be that. A Cena AA on Rock makes this seem a much more even feud. Instead, Cena of all people looks like a chump. What's the endgame here? If you keep Cena as a face and have him beat the Rock in Miami, the crowd is going to riot and a lot of fans are going to be really turned off. If you have Rock beat Cena, Cena looks like total garbage because Rock got the better of him every time out and then beat him at Wrestlemania too. I'm giving it a chance because the end could be a Cena heel turn, either before or during the WM match. To me it's the only thing at this point that makes any sense, but everytime they start to do something to hint at it, they back off. In this case, right after the main event at Survivor Series, Cena had the smirk on his face. He posed, crowd booed, he held his hands out like "Come on!" but still had the smirk. Then when Rock posed a second time, you could see Cena's smirk disappear. He actually looked annoyed, and I thought "Oh boy, here we go, he's going to finally snap and we're going to at least get an edgier Cena". Instead Rock is the one who attacks him and he comes out the next night saying it's okay, Rock just let his emotions get the better of him and he's just such a great wrestler and he hearts him. I liked Miz's comments, but they're coming from Miz, so they don't mean that much.
I personally would have had Cena AA Rock, and if they weren't going to turn him heel yet, come out the next night apologetic, and say HE let the situation get away from him. Then when Miz comes out and calls him a pussy or whatever for apologizing, have Cena snap and destroy Miz, then try to recover the little goofy smirk, making it seem like when he's sitting there smirking all the damn time, it's fake. It sets up either a future heel turn or at least an edgier Cena, who still follows his "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" line but without the damn smirk on his face all the time like he takes nothing seriously. I like intense Cena (when he's given a good reason), but they don't bother with it. Cena was MUCH angrier that Del Rio cashed in his rightfully earned MitB briefcase on CM PUNK (not even on Cena) than he is at the Rock for costing him the WWE title at Wrestlemania, humiliating him at Survivor Series, and then attacking him again. It's bizarre booking. Normally I'd expect it to go somewhere, but WWE so often doesn't go anywhere with these things that it concerns me.
Sorry for the triple post but it keeps cutting me off. ;)
Just wanted to make one more point on Cena turning heel. The reason I want to see it is because I think WWE has a lack of top talent right now, who are viewed as legitimate long term main eventers that can have competitive matches with each other. It's Orton, Cena, Punk, Sheamus, kind of Mark Henry but only recently, and I guess the Big Show but only sort of. Five of those six are faces and they're split between 2 shows. Then you have a bunch of cowardly heels who are booked as being totally unable to hang with those top guys but manage to escape with cheating tactics everytime. That's fine for one or two guys, or as a midcard gimmick ala Honky Tonk Man...when you have tons of heels all doing the same thing, it's terrible. To me, a dominant face and a bunch of underdog heels does not work, but that's how WWE has been booked for awhile now. Cena as a dominant heel up top could change that. An underdog face VS a dominant heel works so much better, and you could actually plug "lesser guys" into PPV matches with Cena, as long as they're not booked to look like total garbage, and people might want to see it more. Just a thought.
Kyle,
Your comments on Rock/Cena brought up a point I had been thinking about for quite some time.
Not at all discounting Rock's incredible talent, but he has been so incredibly protected since his return that it's almost ridiculous. I THINK Cena AA'd him once, but other than that has Rock ever been made to look bad?
He's constantly getting the better of Cena physically AND Rock tears apart Cena on the mic. Yes, Cena has made several remarks against Rock, but he also builds him up A LOT (way too much, if you ask me). Rock, meanwhile, tears down Cena at every opportunity -- and quite ruthlessly, too.
Don't get me wrong, the fans love it but I can't help but feel like Rock and Cena are at different emotional levels. And further, Cena has never really done anything to Rock on camera. All of the reasons for Rock to hate Cena happened years ago in non-WWE interviews. People who are looking for something more than Cena bashing may be wondering why Rock is being such a complete asshole.
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